Thunder in Zanarkand
by SpazKit
Summary: Once, when he was still here, my dad... he told me to stop crying and face my fears... Angsty little thing with Auron and Tidus


This little thing was inspired somewhat by a pic I did a while back… it's on my   
site, under new art. The thunder in zanarkand one I think. ANGST! I dunno why,   
but a crapload of ANGST! Wheeee! O_o  
  
  
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Thunder in Zanarkand  
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It was cold.  
  
Even enwrapped in multiple quilted comforters, the little body of Jecht's only son   
shook with chills. Other than that, the child lay perfectly still, eyes wide in the   
darkness. Another roar of enraged sky shook the boathouse, and Tidus cringed,   
cowering beneath the blankets of his huge bed. His body was dwarfed by it's   
size, and he curled up against the headboard, shuddering. He managed to   
subdue a shrill cry when a blinding bolt of lightning disturbed the sanctity of his   
room and blinded his sensitive blue eyes.  
  
Despite his best efforts, tears of fear and anxiety crept down his pale face.  
  
Digested with himself, Tidus grunted in anger, throwing off the covers, his only   
precious protection against the storm. With cat like grace, the eight-year-old's   
small feet gently touched down upon the cold surface of the wooden floor and   
padded silently into the darkened hallway. Frightened, though trying not to show   
it, the hallway loomed in darkness and seemed larger and more menacing than   
usual. Every shadow created a nightmarish creature, every sound a threat. Eager   
to escape the danger of the corridor, he tiptoed past the bathroom, and paused   
before the master bedroom.  
  
Wincing when the hinges creaked, he eased the door open, and a single   
sapphire eye searched the room. Shadows washed the floors and walls, the   
largest coming from a large scabbard, the sheath containing what Tidus knew to   
be a huge black blade, etched in gold. It stood proudly against the wall, beside   
the large bed that surely contained his keeper. Thunder shook the house again,   
rattling windows and blowing seawater against the outer walls. Afraid his soft   
gasp would be heard the next time thunder roared, Tidus closed the door with   
haste and continued his plight.  
  
Fear churned inside him as he approached the living room.   
  
Swallowing, he gathered his strength, and entered the mouth of his nightmares.   
The room was home to two huge bay windows, each displaying a breathtaking   
vie of the Zanarkand skyline and city. During the day at least. Right now, it was a   
window to one of Tidus's childish fears of thunder and storms. They displayed   
the screaming bolts of lighting without comfort, the harsh light tearing across the   
room for a split second before retreating for another attack.  
  
Now shivering uncontrollably, the boy scrambled towards the couch, perhaps the   
only safety the unfeeling room had to offer. Leaping upon the scarlet cushions,   
he was tempted to bury his face in the material, but held back. This was what he   
had to do, so he did it. Opening his eyes wide against the onslaught of unfeeling   
light, he stared out into the darkness of a powerless and lightless Zanarkand.  
  
So observed was he in his terror, he was unaware of the tears that coursed down   
his face, unaware of the creaking of doors and unaware of the padding of bare   
feet on wooden floor behind him.   
  
"Tidus," A low voice grumbled from behind, "What on Spira are you doing?"  
  
Startled, the boy whipped around to find a groggy and disheveled Auron, one   
massive hand running through dark hair while a lone eye blinked slowly to   
accommodate the darkness. Clad in his dark striped pants and a white   
undershirt, his scarlet robe swayed untied upon his shoulders. Even in his   
sleepwear, the man looked menacing. Tidus recoiled into the couch, praying the   
furnishing would swallow him into sweet oblivion.   
  
"N-nothing," he stammered, his eyes moving rapidly around the room.   
  
Auron, voice rough from sleep, chuckled. "Afraid of the storm?" he asked through   
a yawn, hand now scratching his chest. Tidus glowered, anger surging through   
his veins. Mocking? Always mocking! Just like /him/!  
  
"No!" He cried, his voice betraying him, coming out a squeak instead of a roar.   
  
"Then why are you… crying?" Auron asked without emotion, his eyebrow rising.   
  
Afraid? Of course he was afraid. He was /always/ afraid, /always/ crying… why   
did he always cry?   
  
"N-no!" he stammered again, a combination of rage and burning embarrassment   
singing through his mind. Not afraid… not… afraid!  
  
With a tiny howl of emotional anguish, the child flung himself from the couch, and   
with astounding speed for one his age, raced past the two tall legs of his   
guardian and tore through the house. The storm mimicked his feelings, roaring   
and thundering, rain pounding on the windows.  
  
He heard Auron call after him, but ignored it. Not afraid! Not afraid of rain or   
thunder or, or anything!  
  
Slamming the front door open, Tidus skid across the frozen deck, icy wind and   
rain assaulting his body and hair. His tiny hands grasped the mast and he howled   
to the night, lighting cascading over his features to reveal the distraught young   
boy to the storm.  
  
"You told me to face my fears, /Dad/!" he screamed at no one in particular, body   
quivering with cold and rage. "Well, here I am old man! Where are you? Huh?   
Where /are/ you?" his voice cracked. "And mom, you told me not to be afraid!   
Where are /you/ mom?" Suddenly, his voice grew soft, his tears mixing with the   
frozen rain on his face…  
  
"Where are you?" he whispered before falling to his knees, small, chubby hands   
capturing his face.   
  
And then, he was alone. He realized how horribly, utterly alone…  
  
"Boy," growled Auron from the doorway, his voice echoing off the docks. Tidus   
shook his head, and stood shakily. But instead of crawling to the door, he moved   
to the side of the deck and stared into the dead city, the lifeless, lightless city…   
his feet dangling into the water as he sat dejectedly down upon the slick deck.  
  
He wondered if the deep sea water was as cold and his skin, wondered what it   
would be like to be with his mother. After all, she was dead. And who was here   
for him?   
  
He was slipping, slipping away… feet touching frozen waters, ice sliding up his   
legs…  
  
And then there was warmth.  
  
"Tidus!" Auron hissed, one powerful arm reaching down past the guard rail to   
capture the falling boy. Hauling him up like dead weight, the man tore off his robe   
and slid the freezing boy into it's aged caress, the material soft upon icy skin.   
Having been wrapped like a prized packaged, Auron cradled the bundle to his   
chest and leapt inside the house, closing the door.   
  
Auron placed the shivering child back upon the couch, leaning over and   
unraveling his robe to reveal the distraught blue eyes of Jecht's son. Tidus saw   
the confusion and horror in the man's eye, and shook his head.  
  
"H-he told m-me to face my f-fears," Tidus stammered, teeth chattering.   
  
"So you go outside in the middle of a freezing rain storm in the middle of the night   
to prove yourself?" Auron barked angrily, his hands shaking upon the boy's   
shoulders, out of anger or fear, the boy did not know. "For Yevon's sakes, you   
could have been killed!"  
  
Tidus said nothing. He felt nothing.   
  
Auron's anger simmered, but Tidus didn't combat it. He didn't have the strength.   
  
"Let's get you to bed," Auron said at last, his voice at least calmer than before.   
  
"No," the child said weakly. "I won't leave. I'll stay here and face my fear of the   
storm," he said, shaking his head.  
  
The older man stared down at the boy for a few moments, lightning illuminating   
his frame. Sighing, the man stepped away. Tidus was shocked. Had he won? He   
had.   
  
As Auron left the living room, Tidus managed to hall himself upright to see the   
dreaded windows. Shivering, he stared.   
  
He really hadn't expected Auron to return. Yet here he was, carrying Tidus's   
comforter and a towel. Sitting beside the youth, Auron grumbled softly, his   
demeanor calmer than before. Tidus froze when fingers touched his hair and   
toweled through the dripping locks.  
  
"You're just like him, you know," Auron sighed again, the towel ridding the boy of   
the frozen cold that raced through his body. "Stubborn to the last."  
  
Tidus said nothing, momentarily forgetting the storm and just soaking in the   
feeling of an adult's hands on his hair, neck, head. He stiffened when the hands   
left him. They appeared again, around his front side as their owner drew the   
comforter around him, the warmth seeping into his skin. Then they drew back,   
resting on Auron's thighs. Tidus's eyes drew upwards, staring at the man next to   
him.  
  
"I've never heard you yell before," he murmured, thunder again rocking the boat.  
  
Auron looked past the boy, at the sky. He seemed to be at a loss for words. "I…   
guess I really don't know how to deal with children," he said softly, his mind   
seemingly elsewhere. "I don't know how to deal with someone when I'm that   
worried about them…"  
  
"Worr-ried?" Tidus stuttered, his breath short as he shivered. A lone ocular   
returned from it's leave from the mind to look at the boy. Auron beheld a small,   
straggly boy, cold and… alone. Hesitantly, Auron lifted a hand, and ran his rough   
fingers through drying hair. Tidus said nothing, but actually leaned into the touch.   
  
"How long do we need to sit here?" Auron asked, changing the subject and   
looking away.  
  
Tidus looked down. "Until I… stop feeling scared," he answered softly. Auron   
stared at the floor for a moment, then back to Tidus. The boy started in disbelief   
when the man drew the young child into his arms, enwrapping him in a warm and   
sheltering embrace. Tidus struggled to take in all the different sensations, the   
warmth of another person, the nearness of Auron and his steel muscles, the   
strange feeling of safety. His cheek was pressed up against Auron's chest, the   
man's arm crossed over his cocooned body. The youth could feel those muscles   
quiver with tension. Auron was unsure of himself and nervous as well.  
  
Tidus was silent to the action, but allowed his body to go limp in the elder man's   
arms. Despite the thunder, the boy managed to relax somewhat, sighing softly   
against Auron's smooth arm.   
  
"It's alright to be afraid," Auron's rich voice rumbled against Tidus's cheek. A   
thumb gently ran across the boy's shoulder.  
  
"H-he didn't think so. He said I was a crybaby," Tidus said in monotone. "He said   
I should be more like him."  
  
Auron chuckled softly, a bolt of lightning illuminating the small smile on his face.   
He leaned back against the couch, spreading out and drawing Tidus with him.   
One leg hung off the side while the other was tossed farther down onto the far   
cushions.  
  
"In what way? The poor hygiene or the bad language?"  
  
Tidus smiled against the man's undershirt. Something they agreed on.  
  
"He… we didn't get along," Tidus murmured softly. "He liked mom better."  
  
Auron raised an eyebrow, though the boy couldn't see it. "He still loved you,   
Tidus. I know that. So should you." The older man frowned when he received no   
reply from the small boy curled on his stomach and lap. "Tidus?" he asked,   
nudging the lump with his broad knuckles.  
  
"Sure had a weird way of showing it," mumbled the youth, disappearing into the   
comforter wrapped around him. Only little strands of brown hair escaped the   
cocoon. "He did nothing but… mock me…" the boy's muffled voice said softly   
from the blanket. Auron waited for more of an explanation, but none was   
forthcoming. Licking his lips and looking away, he drew the boy closer, so that   
the mop of hair rested beneath his chin.  
  
"Yet, you miss him."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Auron felt the warm wetness against his neck before he heard the soft sniffles   
emanating from the boy. Groaning in uneasiness, the guardian drew the boy into   
his arms and swung his legs over the couch. Rain pelted the windows, though   
the thunder seemed dimmer now than before. He received no argument from the   
child when he stood and padded slowly down the hallway, his nose still buried in   
the soft downy brown hair. His bare feet took him to the doorway of Tidus's   
bedroom, but the boy made a soft sound of protest from within the nook of   
Auron's neck and chin.  
  
Altering his course, Auron stepped into the master bedroom, his toes sinking into   
the carpet. Slowly, he clambered into the large bed, still cradling the child to his   
chest. Flipping himself, the large man sank into the mattress on his back,   
grunting as his head rested back against the pillows. Tidus slid from his abdomen   
to his side, wiggling inside his cocoon. Auron helped the enwrapped child escape   
from the prison of blankets. Tidus's head popped out, a confused look on his   
face.  
  
"You're… why am I here?" the boy asked, his gaze moving around the dimly lit   
room. Auron sighed deeply, his voice rumbling with the breath. He said nothing,   
but rolled over, facing the young boy. Auron pulled the covers over the child, and   
the two listened to the raindrops pattering against the windowpanes. After a time,   
Tidus's eyelids began to droop, and Auron leaned forward.  
  
"Sleep," he commanded into the youth's ear, his voice soft. A muscled arm drew   
the child to his chest, and Tidus buried his face against the man's side. It was…   
warm.  
  
Both of them felt sleep whispering to their minds, and as Tidus slid away, once   
again the guardian's face slid close to his ear, the voice soft with compassion…  
  
"You're not alone." 


End file.
